Protective hood for dogs and other animals

ABSTRACT

A head covering that protects a dog or other animal against the intrusion of harmful things or elements such as insects, foreign matter, and weed seeds, which can enter the animal&#39;s ears, eyes, or nose and cause discomfort or damage.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to accessories for domestic animals,and more particularly to a head covering that protects against theintrusion of such things as insects, foreign matter, and weed seeds(also known as “foxtails”), from entering the animal's ears, eyes, ornose.

2. Background

Weed seeds, and particularly the grass seeds that are often referred toas “foxtails”, have barbs that cause the seeds to attach themselves onpassing animals. Foxtails imbed painfully in ear canals, nostrils, andeyes. As the animal shakes its head, sneezes, and paws its face, tryingto expel the seed, the seed only goes deeper because of the one-waybarbs. Within minutes, the seed has gone so deep that the seed must beremoved by a veterinarian, under anesthetic, at great cost to the ownerand pain to the animal.

Several products currently exist that attempt to solve this problem, butthey are either ineffective or have significant flaws. Blessing'sprotective bonnet for animals (U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,334 to Blessing, Aug.21, 1973) is designed to protect eyes and ears from insects, but not thenose or mouth. The present invention protects the nose and mouth inaddition to the eyes and ears because it encloses the entire head.

Waltz and Davidson (U.S. Pat. No. 1,004,507 to Waltz, Sep. 26, 1911 andU.S. Pat. No. 5,367,706 to Davidson, Nov. 29, 1994) both designed headenclosures for people to keep the insects away from the face. Both havestiffening ribs to hold the net away from the face. The stiffening ribscause a visual distraction, which can be especially annoying to ananimal and can cause it to be less tolerant of the enclosure. Bycontrast, the present invention can be made from a fabric stiff enoughto stand away from the face without the added stiffening ribs, andtherefore there can be no visual distraction for the animal. When madeof stiff mesh fabric, the protective hood can stand away from the face,therefore not irritating the animal by touching its face. Because of thelack of visual distraction and facial irritation, the animal could bemore willing to wear the device. Finally, construction of the presentinvention can be simpler and more economical to manufacture without theadded stiffening ribs of Waltz and Davidson.

Vaughn's Inhalation Net (U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,581B1 to Vaughn, Dec. 21,2009) protects only the nose and its construction is very complex. Thepresent invention protects the eyes, ears, nose, nostrils and mouth fromthe intrusion of insects, foreign matter, and weed seeds. Also, becausethe construction can be very simple, it can be economical tomanufacture. In some embodiments, the present invention uses one pieceof mesh fabric, to form a hood that can be gathered with a piece ofadjustable elastic at a rearward opening end. Vaughn's Inhalation Netcould cause discomfort and distraction to the animal because it issecured to the animal's muzzle with a piece of elastic that wraps aroundthe lower jaw. The present invention can be designed with as muchcomfort as possible and therefore little distraction for the animalwearing it. It can be sized larger, longer and wider than the head, sothat it doesn't touch the face, and can be shaped so that it has enoughroom for the animal to pant and drink (through the mesh), and can besecured gently with elastic around the neck in a fashion that is similarto the animal's own collar. There could be no visual distractionsbecause any seams are generally out of the animal's line of sight andthe mesh can be easy to see through. Though the present invention can bemade in any color mesh, in some embodiments it can be black, whichgenerally doesn't reflect light and thereby reduces distracting glare.

Finley and Harris' Protective Ear Canal Covering for dogs and otheranimals (U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,272 to Finley and Harris, Nov. 17, 1992)protects only the ear canals. The present invention protects eyes, noseand mouth, in addition, to the ear canals, from the intrusion of weedseeds (including foxtails), insects and other foreign matter, lodgingtherein.

The Lecys' Pet Hood (U.S. Pat. No. 7,523,720 to Lynda and Duane Lecy,Apr. 28, 2009) is made of an inflexible metal mesh that is die cut andis used to prevent animal from biting. The present invention can beprimarily used to protect the animal from the weed seeds, insects, andother foreign matter getting into its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Thepresent invention is made of a flexible material and can therefore bemuch more easily manufactured because it does not need an expensive diecreated for its manufacture and is easily assembled with a simple sewingmachine. Because the present invention is made of a more flexiblematerial it is more comfortable for the animal to wear. It isconceivable that the Lecys' Pet Hood could be used to protect animalsfrom weed seeds, insects and other foreign matter, but it would not becomfortable for the animal or as economical as the present invention.

What is needed is an apparatus to protect animals against the intrusionof such things as insects, foreign matter, and weed seeds, from enteringthe animal's ears, eyes, or nose that can be easily manufactured and iscomfortable for the animal to wear than current products.

In some embodiments, the apparatus should be flexible and free ofdistracting or uncomfortable stiffening ribs and/or seams.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are:

It protects an animal's entire head, including the ear canal,nose/nostrils and eyes, from intrusion of weed seeds, insects and otherforeign matter, therefore avoiding pain and suffering of the animal andcostly visits to the veterinarian.

It is easily worn by an animal and comfortable so therefore is moreacceptable to the animal who will be more willing to wear it & much lesslikely to try to take it off. The protective mesh hood is shaped andsized so that the fabric generally doesn't touch face and the elasticdoes not need to be tight to secure the hood in place around the neck.Pets are accustomed to collars around their necks so securing the hoodaround the neck will be the least irritating way of securing the hoodand the elastic length is adjustable if an animal changes in size. Also,the animal can see, pant, drink, and bark while wearing the protectivemesh hood and it is not visually distracting since the seams are out ofthe animal's line of sight and the mesh is easy to see through.

The invention is easy for a pet owner to use because the elasticfastening and adjustment is easily accessed on the back of the animal'shead. Once the elastic is drawn up, adjusted for the particular animaland secured with the cord lock, the protective mesh hood can easily beslid on and off without having to release and re-adjust the cord-lockeach time. Optional hook/loop fastener straps to prevent animal fromremoving the protective mesh hood are made to quickly and easily wrapand secure around the animal's own collar.

The simple design is easy to manufacture and made of common, inexpensivematerials. Further objects and advantages of my invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description ofit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 An elevation that shows the head of the animal with theprotective mesh hood in place.

FIG. 2 A front view that shows the head of the animal with theprotective mesh hood in place.

FIG. 3 A perspective view that shows the head of the animal with theprotective mesh hood in place.

FIG. 4 A back view that shows the head of the animal with the protectivemesh hood in place, illustrating the back of the hood with the hook/loopfastener straps that secure it to the animal's own collar.

FIG. 5 A construction detail of hood opening casing, showing thereinforced opening, the elastic with the cord-lock adjuster andhook/loop fastener straps.

FIG. 6 A flat side view of the hood only, without opening end gathered.

FIG. 7 A side view of the hood only, with opening end gathered to fitneck.

FIGS. 8 through 19 show alternate embodiments, but are not limited toonly these embodiments of the protective mesh hood:

FIG. 8 A perspective view of a modification, illustrating an additionalpiece of mesh at front end of the apparatus that creates a rounded shapeat top, front end of apparatus.

FIG. 9 A back view of a modification that shows the head of the animalwith the protective mesh hood in place, illustrating the back of thehood without straps that secure it to the animal's own collar.

FIG. 10 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus showingwide elastic sewn directly to the screen mesh, rather than elastic beingfed through a casing.

FIG. 11 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatshows a separate casing made of a non-mesh fabric that can be sewn ontothe opening end of apparatus.

FIG. 12 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatshows the back of hood made out of a non-mesh fabric.

FIG. 13 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatshows possible placement of extra seams throughout the protective meshhood. All seams are placed out of animal's line of sight.

FIG. 14 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatshows it without the reinforced opening or the cord lock.

FIG. 15 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatshows it without elastic and without the cord lock.

FIG. 16 Side (FIG. 16 a) and back (FIG. 16 b) views of an embodimentthat shows an opening at the top of the protective mesh hood for theerect types of ears, in which a separate gathered piece of can beinserted and stitched to enclose the ears.

FIG. 17 Side (FIG. 17 a) and back (FIG. 17 b) views of an embodimentthat shows the addition of extra fabric to the protective mesh hood thatcreates extra room at the top of the mesh hood for the erect types ofears that can be shaped with darts at the back of the hood.

FIG. 18 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatshows it with a narrow type of material threaded through several, evenlyspaced holes, and reinforced at the opening end of the protective meshhood.

FIG. 19 An elevation of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus thatillustrates how the protective mesh hood could be made of one singlepiece of mesh, suitably shaped to animal's head using folded darts,pleats or gathers and then secured with stitching to a buckled collar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a protective hood 2 can be configured and designedto protect an animal from insects and foreign matter by enclosing theentire head in mesh material. Mesh material can be comprised of vinylcoated polyester threads but may be comprised of any material that hasthe correct size openings between the threads. The threads can be woventogether to create openings between threads that can block foreignmatter and insects from entering a hood 2, while allowing visibility andair circulation through openings to animal. In some embodiments, meshmaterial can have anti-bacterial and/or ultraviolet protective coatingand/or inherent properties. In yet other embodiments, a hood 2 can becoated or sprayed with insect repellant.

A hood 2 can reflect the shape of an animal's head and can be largerthan the circumference of the animal's head. The size of a hood 2 can bedesigned larger than an animal's head so that there can be space betweenthe material and all around the animal's head. This is for the animal'scomfort and to allow the animal room to open its mouth and pant. In someembodiments, the material that comprises the hood can be shaped byhaving at least one seam 4. FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment in which onlyone seam 4 is used, but see FIGS. 6-8, 12 and 13 for embodimentsutilizing multiple seams 4. FIGS. 6-8 depict embodiments comprising agusset 20 that can add additional room for an animal's head and/or canprovide added structural support to a hood 2. A gusset 20 can be coupledwith the rest of a hood 2 via a seam 4. A seam 4 can be stitched, asdepicted in FIG. 1, or can be bonded using adhesive or any other knownand/or convenient bonding process. In alternate embodiments, a hood 2can be molded using other methods such as heat formation (such asplacing a piece of mesh over a mold of preferred shape and heating it toconform to shape).

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, an opening end 6 of a hood 2 can begreater than largest circumference of an animal's head so as tofacilitate easy placement of a hood 2 over the animal's head. An openingend 6 can then be gathered to the size of the animal's neck. Gatheringcan be accomplished through utilization of an elongated member 12, drawnup within a casing 8, drawn through a reinforced opening 10 in thecasing 8, and secured by a cord lock device 14. In some embodiments, anelongated member 12 can be elastomeric. In alternate embodiments, anelongated member 12 can be any other type of material shaped in a longthin strip, such as cording or strapping that can be drawn up within thecasing 8 and secured by a cord lock device or tied.

A casing 8 at the opening end 6 of a hood 2 can be formed by folding themesh material of a hood 2 and then stitching the material back ontoitself to secure the edge to a hood 2. In other embodiments, a casing 8can be a separate component that can be formed separated andsubsequently coupled with a hood 2 (see FIG. 11). In such an embodiment,the material of a casing 8 can be different from that of a hood 2. Inyet other embodiments, a casing 8 and a hood 2 can be made ofsubstantially the same material.

Referring to FIG. 5, a casing 8 can be any width that is large enoughfor an elongated member 12 to move through easily. A casing 8 canenclose an elongated member 12 that can be any width that can beaccommodated by a cord lock device 14. A casing 8 comprise a smallreinforced opening 10 to allow exit of an elongated member 12, whichthen can be threaded through a cord lock device 14 to secure the lengthof an elongated member 12 to a size that fits the animal's neck, justbehind the ears. The loose ends of an elongated member 12 can hangfreely, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and/or each end can be knotted and/orfolded or stitched onto itself to prevent passage through a cord lockdevice 14. In other embodiments, the loose ends of an elongated member12 can be coupled together via tying, gluing, stitching, rivets, or anyother known and/or convenient method of coupling.

An opening 10 can be reinforced by any known and/or convenient method,including stitching similar to how a buttonhole is typically reinforced,or with a small piece of closely woven fabric glued or otherwise bondedaround the opening 10. In other embodiments, an opening 10 can bereinforced with grommets or any other known and/or convenientreinforcement mechanism or method.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, to prevent an animal from taking a hood 2off, straps 16 can be coupled with an opening end 6 and can be adaptedto temporarily couple with an animal's own collar 18. Straps 16 can bemade of hook and loop fastener material or any known and/or convenientflexible material. In the embodiment depicted, straps 16 have a long,narrow shape, but in other embodiments, straps 16 can have any otherknown and/or convenient geometry. Straps 16 can be positionedsubstantially perpendicular to an animal's collar 18, and can be longenough to wrap and secure around the collar 18. Straps 16 can be coupledwith a collar 18 via stitching, adhesive, rivets, snaps or any otherknown and/or convenient method of permanent or temporary attachment.Similarly, the ends of a strap 16 can be adapted to couple with eachother temporarily and selectively via adhesive, snaps, hook and loopmechanism, buckle, or any other known and/or convenient fasteningmechanism.

An alternate embodiment of a hood 2 is shown in FIG. 9. Since manyanimals may not have the ability to, or can be trained not to, take offa hood 2, in some embodiments straps 16 can be eliminated.

An alternate embodiment of a hood 2 is shown in FIG. 14. In theembodiment shown, a casing 8 does not have an opening 10 or cord lockdevice 14. Instead, an elongated member 12 can form a loop and can madeof elastomeric material substantially the circumference of an animal'sneck such that, in use, a hood 2 can fit closely around the animal'sneck without applying too much pressure and/or causing strangulation ordiscomfort.

In some embodiments, a hood 2 may not have a casing 8. Instead, as shownin FIG. 10, a piece of elastomeric material 22 can be secured directlyto the opening end 6 edge of a hood 2 via stitching, adhesive, snaps, orany other known and/or convenient mechanism. In other embodiments, asshown in FIG. 18, an elongated member 12 can be threaded through severalholes 32 located proximate to the opening end 6 of a hood 2, such thatwhen an elongated member 12 is drawn up, an opening end 6 is gatheredand tightened around an animal's neck. An elongated member 12 can besecured in a drawn position via a cord lock device 14, by tying theends, or by any other known and/or convenient method. FIG. 15 depicts anembodiment in which an elongated member 12 is secured without the aid ofa cord lock device 14.

In some embodiments, a hood 2 can be secured around an animal's head andneck without the use of an existing collar 18. FIG. 19 depicts anembodiment in which a hood 2 is coupled with a built-in collar 34. Inthis embodiment, a collar 34 can be tightened and secured around ananimal's neck via a buckle mechanism or any other known and/orconvenient tightening and fastening mechanism. A collar 34 can be madeof nylon, leather, or any other known and/or convenient material. Insome embodiments, a collar 34 can at least partially comprise reflectivecoating and/or material and/or battery or solar-powered lights so as toprovide increased visibility of the animal in the dark.

Although FIGS. 1-4, 6-7, 9-11 depict a hood 2 substantially made of onepiece of material and one seam 4, in some embodiments, a hood 2 cancomprise a plurality of sections and seams 4. As depicted in FIGS.12-13, parts of a hood 2 that are out of the line of sight of an animalcan be made out of different material. In the embodiments depicted,sections 24 are comprised of more closely woven material that canprovide further protection, reinforcement, and/or sun blockage. Sections24 can be coupled with a hood 2 via stitching, adhesive, or any otherknown and/or convenient method of bonding at a seam 4.

FIGS. 16-17 depict embodiments in which a hood 2 is designed to fitanimals with erect ears. In FIGS. 16A-16B, an ear section 28 can becoupled with a hood 2 and can be adapted to accommodate the height of ananimal's erect ears. In FIGS. 17A-17B, a hood 2 can comprise darts 30 tocreate extra room at the top of the hood 2 for erect ears.

Referring to FIG. 1, in use, a pet owner can hold a hood 2 with a seam 4facing the ground, and an opening end 6 substantially perpendicular tothe ground and facing away from the owner and toward an animal. Theowner can then guide an opening end 6 over the animal's head beginningat the animal's nose, and then progressing over the ears, to finally laybehind the ears on the animal's neck. The opening end 6 can then besecured around the neck by drawing up an elongated member 12 andsecuring it with a cord lock device 14. Straps 16 can then be wrappedaround the animal's own collar and secured at a length that iscomfortable for the animal. In other embodiments, other methods ofapplication and use can be employed, depending on user preference, hood2 structure and design, and type and size of animal.

Although a hood 2 has been described for use as a protective enclosureto keep pests or other harmful objects away from an animal's head, insome embodiments a hood 2 can be used to protect other people oranimal's from the animal wearing the hood 2 by preventing biting, spreadof disease, or other harmful activity by the animal. In yet otherembodiments, a hood 2 can be used as a barrier to deter an animal fromlicking itself, irritating a wound, or interfering with a bandage orsutures after surgery or other medical procedures. A hood 2 can alsoprevent an animal from eating things it shouldn't, such as feces,plants, or other potentially harmful substances.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, the invention as described and hereinafter claimed isintended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A protective device for animals, comprising: ahood comprising mesh material and a neck opening; said neck openingbeing adapted to slide over an animal's head; said hood havingdimensions larger than the dimensions of an animal's head; an elongatedmember coupled with said hood proximate to said neck opening, whereinsaid elongated member has a length at least as great as thecircumference of an animal's neck.